A law professor at Georgetown University was fired after complaining her worst students are almost always Black. Professor Sandra Sellers made the comments while talking to colleague David Batson during a Zoom meeting.
In a video capture of the comments posted to Instagram, Sellers made sweeping generalizations about her Black students, whom she referred to as "Blacks."
The comments are cringe-worthy to say the very least.
In an exasperated tone, Sellers talks about how poorly her Black students perform in her courses. Her colleague Batson appears to be uncomfortable with her comments, but does not push back on them.
Adding insult to injury is the way Sellers refers to her Black students.
She calls them "Blacks" and speaks of "some good ones," as if the students are objects or a collective instead of individuals.
"I hate to say this. I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are Blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it's like, oh come on."
"You get some really good ones, but there are also usually some that are just plain at the bottom. It drives me crazy."
In response, Georgetown Law School Dean William Treanor issued a statement about the video yesterday.
In it, Treanor called Sellers's comments abhorrent and apologized to the students and community.
"I recognize how hurtful this incident is to members of this class, to the members of the Black community, and to members of our community as a whole."
"I am committed to taking steps to support students through this and to addressing racism and bias wherever they appear. There is no place for bias in our grading process or anywhere in our community."
Earlier today, Treanor took more decisive action.
Sellers has been terminated from the Law School.
On social media, people were disgusted by the professors' exchange.
As of this writing, Batson has not been fired, but he was placed on administrative leave.
